Question

A crest of a water wave requires 5.2 s to travel between two points on a fishing pier located 19 m apart. It is noted in a series of waves that 20 crests pass the first point in 17 s. What is the wavelength of the waves?

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation:

Given : A crest of a water wave requires 5.2 s to travel between two points on a fishing pier located 19 m apart. It is noted in a series of waves that 20 crests pass the first point in 17 s. What is the wavelength of the waves?

Water wave travels 19 m in 5.2 secs

Velocity of wave is given by distance traveled / time = 19/5.2 m/s

20 crests pass the first point in 17 s

The distance between two consecutive crests will be wavelength. So 20 crests is 19 waves.

Now distance traveled by wave in 17 s will be

17 x v = 17 x 19/5.2 m which is length of 19 waves.

Therefore wave length λ = 17 x 19/5.2 /19  = 3.27 m

The wavelength of the waves λ ≅ 3.27 m